A San Jose Sharks Blog

Good News
 - Team leaders, such as Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton, produced.
Though the team loss in the shootout, it was nice to see Marleau open up the season with a goal. Even more importantly, Thornton showed us once again why he is a superstar. Not only did he assist on Marleau's goal, but he also tied the game up with only 10.6 seconds left.

 - Torrey Mitchell showed that he belongs.
The 22 year old rookie flew around the ice, consistently putting pressure on the defense, while getting off two quality shots on goal. For his very first NHL appearance, the kid showed that he's ready to compete at this level.

 - Team Teal willing to drop the gloves.
The biggest question mark remaining for the Sharks was their ability to stand tall and handle to tough stuff. After watching last night's game, I'm not too worried. Numerous scuffles broke out last night and San Jose showed that they're up to the task if needed. My favorite moment of the night was when Douglas Murray went after Raffi Torres for the attempted cheapshot on Mitchell. The fight turned out to be a draw, which is unfortunate because I hate Torres and would have liked seeing his head ripped off. Okay, maybe that's a little too much, but I don't like that guy...for numerous reasons.

Bad News
 - Loss in the shootout
I don't know why, but the Sharks suck in the shootout. We have some of the most talented forwards in the entire league, but they can't seem to put one past the goalie when it's one-on-one. Certain players look like they don't even know what to do!

 - Couldn't convert on the powerplay
Sure, Thornton's goal at the end of the game was a powerplay goal. However, the fact that it went in had nothing to do with the team's powerplay effort...it was simply Joe being Joe. Overall, Team Teal finished 1-6; had they converted on one of the earlier opportunities, the game could have turned out much differently.

 - Allowed two garbage goals
I don't think that anybody who watched the game could say that Edmonton's two regulation goals were pretty. They were simple garbage goals that resulted from pucks dumped towards the net. If the defense kept the front of the net clear, maybe none of these weird bounces would have turned into goals.

Overall, I was happy to see San Jose Sharks hockey on tv again. It was an exciting, tight match that ended in disappointment. On the other hand, I should be happy that Team Teal was able to steal a point for the standings. Moreover, it's only been one game and there's so many more to go. Fortunately, the next game is tonight and I won't have to dwell on the loss for too long.